Laos

AP Photo/David Longstreath

News about Laos, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

May. 18, 2014

Lao Airlines plane carrying senior Laotian government officials crashes, leaving at least four people dead, including Deputy Prime Minister Douangchay Phichit and Thongbane Sengaphone, minister of public security; cause of crash is under investigation. MORE

Oct. 17, 2013

Lao Airlines flight crashes into Mekong River in southern Laos, killing all 49 people on board. MORE

Mar. 25, 2013

Secretary of State John Kerry urges Laotian government to make public the results of an investigation into what happened to Sombath Somphone, American-educated agricultural specialist who disappeared in December 2012. MORE

Mar. 20, 2013

Karen B Stewart, American ambassador to Laos, says Laotian authorities have blocked United States investigation into disappearance of two citizens and United States resident. MORE

Jan. 11, 2013

Disappearance in December of Sombath Somphone, United States-trained agriculture specialist who led one of most successful nonprofit organizations in Laos, has baffled his family and friends and raised alarms that nascent liberalization of Communist country could be sliding backward; Laos government has history of crushing any dissent deemed to be threat to monopoly on power it has held for three and a half decades. MORE

Jan. 2, 2013

China is planning to build railroad through Laos to Bangkok and eventually to Bay of Bengal in Myanmar, development vital to its strategy of pulling Southeast Asia closely into its orbit and providing Beijing with another route to transport oil from Middle East; critics say most of wealth from project would flow to China while costs would be borne by Laos. MORE

Nov. 7, 2012

Laos, ignoring criticism that huge hydroelectric dam could irreparably damage ecology of the Mekong River, says it is pushing ahead with the multibillion-dollar project, first dam to be built on lower portion of the iconic river; electricity from the project will be sold to Thailand and will provide billions of dollars of revenue to Laos, one of the poorest countries in Asia. MORE

Jul. 24, 2012

World Wildlife Fund releases report showing that poor wildlife-protection efforts by Asian and African countries in response to illegal poaching is putting the survival of rhinoceroses, tigers and elephants at risk; names Vietnam, Laos and Mozambique as the countries that have done the least to combat trafficking of the endangered animals. MORE

Jul. 15, 2012

Elisabeth Eaves travel article explores the Plain of Jars in northern Laos; thousands of megalithic stone jars are grouped into clusters that range from just a few to hundreds, with the tallest reaching nearly 10 feet high; origin and purpose of jars, which are about 2,000 years old, is a mystery. MORE

Jul. 12, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton makes a brief stop on her Asia tour in Laos, the first visit by an American secretary of state in 57 years and one that brings into stark relief the enduring legacy of the Vietnam War. MORE

May. 11, 2012

Naw Kham, man accused of orchestrating the killings of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River in 2011, is extradited from Laos. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"Articles","query":"","search_query":"(glocations.contains:\"Laos\" OR glocations.contains:\"\\(Laos\\)\") AND -type_of_material:\"Editorial\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"Obituary\" AND -type_of_material:\"paid death notice\" AND -headline:\"paid notice\" AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Summary\" AND -type_of_material:\"Schedule\" AND -type_of_material:\"Letter\" AND -news_desk:\"Travel\" AND -news_desk:\"Escapes\" AND -news_desk:\"Dining\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashion\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashions\" AND -news_desk:\"Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Styles\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\/Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Living\" AND -news_desk:\"Beauty\" AND -news_desk:\"Design\" AND -news_desk:\"Theater\" AND -subject:\"Theater\" AND -news_desk:\"Movies\" AND -subject:\"Motion Pictures\" AND -subject:\"Movies\" AND -news_desk:\"Great Homes and Destinations\"","num_search_articles":"15","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"LAOS","more_on_header":"MORE ON LAOS AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}

May 18, 2014, Sunday

A new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency says that illegal logging and corruption have contributed to the near extinction of Siamese rosewood, a rare tropical hardwood found in the Mekong region.